Quote:

---

Quote:

---

For many folks, gear is about subtle differences.

---

These differences tend to get blown out of proportion in these types of discussions IMO. On a night of excellent seeing on a particular object a better quality apochromat will separate itself from a less expensive chinese made scope. Some would characterize this as a big difference whereas others would be amazed at how close in performance they really are. I'm on my 5th Takahashi refractor and I find this latest generation of refractors made in China to be very impressive. Considering that Synta (as an example) has been doing this for 10 years and has very modern manufacturing facilities (Zygo Interferometers etc) I'm not surprised at the level of quality they've achieved. Despite the many posts here warning about the variability in quality of these telescopes, anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that the quality is pretty uniform from sample to sample lately. There are hundreds of user reports and I hear of very few lemons or poor performers these days. The fact that alot of these scopes are in the hands of experienced users gives these informal reviews alot of weight as well.

---

That's true. It's also true you can pay an additional 50% or more for a "mere" 5-10% increase in performance. Further, some don't care about the difference in performance, and some won't even notice it. OTOH, some do.

I don't think anyone has ever downplayed the VALUE of the inexpensive gear (at least from what I've seen), but when the topic comes up, I also think it's important for everyone to understand the actual differences in order to make an informed purchase.

What is important for you? That is the question. You're the only one that can answer it.

You guys who are just getting started now have no idea how good you have it today. I paid like 3x as much for the gear I started off with and it wasn't even half as good as what's available today. And yet, I had a TON fun.

Just get out there and enjoy it.

--------------------
Hyperbole - undoubtedly the best thing ever.

Post Extras